The 20 Coolest Facts About the BMW Brand

One of the most recognizable automobile brands worldwide, BMW has had 108 years to perfect its mission. Founded in 1916 to manufacture aircraft engines, the BMW brand has come a long way with its own vehicles but also as the owner of both the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands. 

When you think about BMW, you often think of luxury, performance, and superior driving. This is a company that has had decades to ensure that its branding sticks. In today’s world, BMW is looking to transition toward the electric space without compromising everything that has made it the Ultimate Driving Machine. 

20. Million-Mile Motor

• Source: The Guardian

One very special BMW 325i has traveled over one million miles, a testament to BMW’s manufacturing and reliability strengths. It was driven on a platform so Mobil, the oil company, could learn about engine wear and tear. After following all of BMW’s oil and service schedules, Mobil discovered the vehicle only had “negligible” wear and tear, another testament to BMW engineering.. 

19. Few Spare Tires

• Source: BMW.com 

To move away from the traditional spare tire model that has become a recognized part of any vehicle purchase, BMW has opted for run-flat tires and provides repair kits to customers. This not only saves weight but also allows BMW to add more trunk space. 

18. Digital Key

• Source: Bimmerlife.com

Beginning in 2018 and then jumping into use in 2020, BMW was one of the first vehicle manufacturers to allow customers to unlock specific models using only a smartphone. In 2020, BMW partnered with Apple to bring an app to the App Store. 

17. First Turbocharged Car

• Source: BMW-M.com 

Released in 1973, the BMW 2002 was celebrated as the company’s first vehicle with a turbocharged engine. Producing 170 horsepower, the 2002 had a top speed of 124 miles per hour, which was relatively fast for a road-legal vehicle overseas. 

16. Spartanburg, South Carolina

• Source: BMWGroup-Werke.com

Surprisingly, BMW’s largest manufacturing facility is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina, in the United States. The facility produces nearly 1,500 vehicles daily and has shipped more than 2.7 million since 2014. 

15. BMW M Logo

• Source: The Daily Star

The BMW M logo, traditionally used on its more performant models, has an interesting backstory. In the 1970s, BMW was negotiating a sponsorship deal with Texaco Oil, and the blue stripe represented Bavaria, the red for Texaco, and the violet as a blend of the two. Although the deal fell through, BMW maintained the logo and is still used today.  

14. BMW Motorcycles

• Source: The Fact File

BMW motorcycle production is often overshadowed by the company’s automobiles, but it shouldn’t be. BMW motorcycles have broken approximately 200 different world speed records, of which 25 are still relevant today. 

13. Kidney Grille

• Source: The Fact File

BMW’s signature front grille, the “Kidney Grille,” has been around since 1933. The first vehicle to use this grille was the BMW 303, which debuted this now synonymous design that has been used on countless BMW models ever since. 

12. BMW Sports Car

• Source: Wikipedia

BMW is considered a luxury brand for all the right reasons, but the vehicle attempted to enter the sports car market just once in 1978. Originally intended to be built in tandem with Lamborghini, the BMW M1 was manufactured by BMW itself after the joint deal fell through, allowing BMW to go at it alone from 1978 to 1981. 

11. Anti-Lock Braking System

• Source: Car Buzz

One of the many innovations BMW is responsible for is the inclusion of anti-lock brakes in its motorcycle lineup. After Mercedes introduced the system for vehicles a decade before, BMW added the technology and saved lives in 1998 when it finalized the system for its motorcycles. 

10. Mercedes-Benz Merger

• Source: Rallyebmw.com

Even though it wasn’t successful, the world would have been shocked had Mercedes-Benz and BMW merged. When BMW struggled during the Cold War, Daimler-Benz attempted a hostile brand takeover. Still, BMW employees and industrialist Herbert Quandt rushed to buy company stock to prevent Mercedes from buying up enough shares to assume ownership. 

9. BMW Isetta

• Source: BMW.com

While the BMW naming convention has become standard with an emphasis on numbers denoting the vehicle class, there is one exception. The BMW Isetta is the only vehicle in the brand’s history to have a traditional “name,” which BMW maintained after acquiring the license for the car from the Italian company ISO. 

8. Beamer Versus Bimmer

• Source: GPoTuning.com

The slang surrounding the BMW brand has been around for decades, and there are no signs that it’s slowing down. However, the brand should issue a worldwide correction, as “Beamer” is the appropriate slang for a BMW motorcycle while “Bimmer” is about a BMW vehicle. 

7. Older Vehicle Parts

• Source: GPoTuning.com

Something unique and undoubtedly cool about BMW is that it’s still manufacturing parts for vehicles that date back to World War II. Unlike many other brands, which force you to scour the planet to find the right part for an engine, BMW is still making and supporting many of these parts. 

6. BMW Headquarters

• Source: GPoTuning.com

If you look at BMW’s headquarters building in Munich, Germany, it was designed to resemble the layout and look of the company’s four-cylinder engine at the time. The building has four vertical towers next to one another and connected by a central support tower. 

5. Other Iconic Brands

• Source: GPoTuning.com

In 1994, BMW acquired the Rover Group, which then owned the rights to the MINI and the Land Rover Group. However, BMW would sell the Land Rover Business to Ford and spin off the MINI business, though it’s not unheard of to see MINI and BMW dealerships next to one another. BMW later purchased the ultra-luxury car maker Rolls-Royce in 1998, a brand they still own today. 

4. World War I

• Source: ModaCarts.net

At the end of World War I, the Treaty of Versailles would not allow BMW, as a German brand,  to produce any war plane or aircraft engine. As a result, it turned its attention to motorcycles producing its first model in 1923 and eventually cars after it purchased another German auto brand in 1928. 

3. First Electric Car

• Source: ModaCarts.net

While BMW is making an electric transition today in a major way, the company’s first electric car was actually produced in 1972 and called the BMW 1602e. Unfortunately, this car never made it to mass market and only had a 20-minute charge, but it shows the forward thinking BMW is known for. 

2. BMW Logo

• Source: The Daily Star

For decades, people have been debating the origins of the BMW logo, which many have long thought represents a spinning propeller due to the company’s aviation birth. However, the logo is actually an homage to Bavaria with blue and white symbolizing the colors of the Bavarian flag. 

1. Aviation First, Cars Second

• Source: The Daily Star

When BMW was founded in 1916 at Bayerische Flugzeugwerke, it was solely focused on producing aircraft engines. At the time, BMW saw great success as it set records for altitude and speed. The company’s first product was a fighter aircraft for the German Air Force, known at the time as the Luftstreitkrafte.

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